one of them

twenty-five

DJ's POV

I cocked an eyebrow. "What?" I asked in shock.

"Let's get dinner. See a movie. Get in trouble. Whatever it is. For real. Nothing more."

I thought for a moment. "That's alright. I won't make ya. I get it. You care about me in your weird way. I don't think you'd go the extra mile to prove something like this if it wasn't true."

"I'm confused."

"I get it." I said stopping. He stopped as well. "We don't have to hookup anymore. I'll stop."

"I meant it."

"You do realize that you're gonna get hauled in soon, right? When's the next day you'll even be able to do this?"

"I dunno. I'll figure it out. Tell your brothers, give them some time to process it, and then I'll be out and we'll get some food. As a date."

"You know that means I'll have to tell them about where I've been and what I've been doing."

"I know. And they can't do anything about it, 'cause I'll be in the cooler."

I laughed. "Alright, alright. You sure about this?"

"Positive."

We were almost back to my house. "Alright. You win."

"I always do." He said finishing off his cigarette.

"I'll tell them tomorrow. Or soon. I dunno. But I think we have a good plan."

"I look forward to it. I'll probably be absent for a bit." He started to whisper as we made it back to my window.

"I get it. I'll see you when you're out."

"It's a date." He said with a grin.

I climbed back in my window with a bit of his help and took my shoes and jacket off.

I was about to close my window and I stopped. "Hey, Dal?" I whispered.

"What's up, doll?"

I thought for a moment. "Wanna come in?"

"What?"

"I know I said that I wouldn't ask for another hookup, but..." I drawled.

"Aren't your brothers home?"

"Yeah, but if we be quiet no one will ever know." He laughed slightly. "What?" I asked.

"Sorry. Just thought the quiet part was funny."

"I can be quiet..." I mumbled with a grin.

"Haven't been before."

"'Cause I didn't have to be."

"I refused to be humbled a third time..." He muttered crawling in my window.

I laughed quietly.

And that was the only thing quiet for that night. If it wasn't for his hand over my mouth, we would have been busted.

He won.

And he said goodbye.

-

Dallas was hauled in the next day and I have to admit I was quite sad, but hopeful.

I missed his face. His touch. His voice. All of it. And I had a long five months to look towards.

Once Dallas got his sentence for hiding out the boys and holding the clerk at gunpoint, I decided it was time to tell Darry, Soda, and Pony.

Thank God the gun wasn't loaded. He would've been locked up for quite a bit longer.

Boy was I nervous.

We had all found out about Dally's arrest. Everyone was wondering how Dally got hauled in if he was dying a day ago.

But only I knew.

I figured I'd tell Steve, Two, and Johnny after I told my brothers.

It was certainly a conversation at the dinner table.

"I just don't get it." Ponyboy said. "Nobody could see him, because of his condition. And now he's in jail? How'd he even get sentenced if he couldn't go anywhere?"

"I dunno, Pony. We'll just have to be patient and find out eventually." Darry said taking a spoonful of soup.

"Umm... I might actually know why..." I mumbled. My heart was beating out of my chest. I wondered if they could tell.

"How?" Ponyboy asked.

I put my spoon down. "Umm... well, Soda, you remember how you yelled at me for not being honest about where I was going and what I was doin'?"

"I dunno if I yelled." He said with a grin.

I managed to give him a slight smile, but I couldn't keep it for long. I wasn't sure how Darry was gonna react. That was my biggest concern.

"Anyway, when I was visiting Johnny, I thought that I'd stop and see how Dal was doing for myself. I knew they wouldn't let me in, but wanted some information, anyway. To my surprise, the nurse did let me in. It turns out that Dallas has been awake the whole time and has been having her lie to us about it so that he could skip town."

"Skip town?" Ponyboy asked in shock.

"Yeah... guess he had enough of it here."

"They got him at Bucks, though. Didn't skip town soon enough." Soda said.

"Yeah... I know... And he knew he was gettin' hauled in. But..."

"What does this have to do with Soda's outburst?" Ponyboy asked.

My heart raced faster, which I didn't even think was possible. "DJ, you okay?" Darry asked.

I swallowed. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright. This is just the time to tell you that I wasn't at Julia's all those nights I said I was. Most of the time I wasn't, and even when I was, I would leave early and go out."

"I know." Darry said plainly.

"You know?" I asked in shock.

"I know."

"How?" I asked.

"I had a feeling. So I called her about three weeks into your weeks with her and asked if you were there. I called the next two weeks and all three times she said you weren't there."

"So you just let me get away with it?"

"Wasn't sure how to stop you. Just kinda hoped you'd give in eventually."

"So, do you know where I was?" I asked nervously.

"No. I asked Julia and she also didn't know."

My mouth was slightly opened as I stared at him in shock. "I-I don't really know what to say..." I mumbled.

"So... you gonna tell us where you were?" Soda asked.

I noticed Ponyboy sitting with his head down. He looked like he was thinking.

I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Ponyboy's gasp. "It was you at Dally's!"